A Review of The Nasty #1
The Nasty #1
John Lees words
George Kambadais art
Adam Cahoon art
Jim Campbell letters
From Vault Comics
Tired of all the same frights? Are the new age scary movies not providing sleepless nights? Make some popcorn and peep the solicit:
Calling all scary movie fans!
Scotland, 1994.
Eighteen-year-old Thumper Connell still has an imaginary friend: the masked killer from his favourite slasher film. Thumper is obsessed with horror and always has been. He fills his time with scary VHS rentals and hanging out with his fellow fans, The Murder Club. But everything changes when his local video shop acquires one of the notorious films known as "video nasties" - films so scary, they're the target of the British Moral Decency League's crusade to ban and burn. But it's only a movie, right? It's all just imaginary, isn't it?
A story about the perception of evil, the power of genre, the love of fandom, the need to create art, oh, and crap-your-pants TERROR!
John Lees and Vault Comics is a match made in heaven. Well, perhaps–due to the subject matter–it’s better to say a match made in the deepest, wiriest bowels of hell where all things terrible slither up your legs before burrowing into your asshole and delivering a straight injection of pure, chaotic nightmare fuel.
I’m glad John found a place at Vault, basically. I’m also glad–nay, more than glad: extremely fucking hyped–that The Nasty #1 is a KLABAMMOWHAMMIN great time.
I love horror. I love being scared. I love watching horror movies with friends and finding movies that scare them too (I’m reminded of a recent Terrifier viewing where my anxiety-ridden sister tried to crawl inside herself to keep away from the craziness displayed on the screen, and I, her sick-puppy brother, loved every moment of the squirming). John Lees wrote this book for me, for people like me who never tire of the hidden dangers hiding at the end of those dark hallways, underneath beds, within dilapidated sheds, or the shame corners in the back of our terror-driven heads. It screams of nostalgia, of long nights spent slurping Surge and binge watching a stack of slashers rented from the local movie store (remember those?).
Thumper, our protagonist, is my kind of dude, and I wish my subconscious had the roiling guts to produce a murderous imaginary friend like Red Ennis. There’s a wondrous Hack/Slash vibe bouncing about between these two characters, and I can tell Lees is having fun exploring their relationship within the narrative. Though the camaraderie begins as a heartwarming escape, readers will soon find that something isn’t quite right. A child with an imaginary friend is one thing, but a young adult with an imaginary friend exhibits a nefariousness and worry. As the pages turn, you’ll begin to wonder how imaginary Red Ennis actually is and what consequences may arise from his looming presence within Thumper’s psyche.
George Kambadais and Adam Cahoon’s art, too, has a looming presence within the narrative. Regardless of the subject matter, the colors and linework provide a youthful exuberance that beautifully coincide with The Nasty’s coming of age motif. Lees leaves a lot of humor in these scripts, and these artists are replicating that on the page. There’s also some great juxtaposition when the violence ramps up to 11. It ends up being a smart, stylistic choice leaving eyeballs content and excited to roam the panels.
Jim Campbell letters everything perfectly as he tends to do on a myriad of Vault titles. Dialog is a joy to read both in content and technique. Screams and sound effects look great, and there’s a wonderful bit with a drill that readers will need to see to believe.
The Nasty does a lot of great things, and I’m happy to say that I’ve read the second issue as well, and it gets even better. I can’t wait to see what this creative team has in store for the cast and the audience.
Trust in the Buzz: you’re going to want to pick this up, else you’ll be rage-shitting in disappointment after realizing the wonders of which you’re missing. Snag this when you’re out comic shopping tomorrow and witness as once-imaginary terrors turn delightfully real.
Speaking of horrors, Ryan Cady and Andrea Mutti will be joining me on the livestream to talk about their new book from Top Cow Productions, Haunt You to the End. Click below if you’d like to nerd out with us (a share, like, and subscribe would sure be nice).